Approximating average parameters of graphs

Inspired by Feige (36th STOC, 2004), we initiate a study of sublinear randomized algorithms for approximating average parameters of a graph. Specifically, we consider the average degree of a graph and the average distance between pairs of vertices in a graph. Since our focus is on sublinear algorith...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Random structures & algorithms Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 473 - 493
Main Authors: Goldreich, Oded, Ron, Dana
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.07.2008
Subjects:
ISSN:1042-9832, 1098-2418
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Inspired by Feige (36th STOC, 2004), we initiate a study of sublinear randomized algorithms for approximating average parameters of a graph. Specifically, we consider the average degree of a graph and the average distance between pairs of vertices in a graph. Since our focus is on sublinear algorithms, these algorithms access the input graph via queries to an adequate oracle. We consider two types of queries. The first type is standard neighborhood queries (i.e., what is the ith neighbor of vertex v?), whereas the second type are queries regarding the quantities that we need to find the average of (i.e., what is the degree of vertex v? and what is the distance between u and v?, respectively). Loosely speaking, our results indicate a difference between the two problems: For approximating the average degree, the standard neighbor queries suffice and in fact are preferable to degree queries. In contrast, for approximating average distances, the standard neighbor queries are of little help whereas distance queries are crucial. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2008
Bibliography:This article is dedicated in memory of Shimon Even (1935-2004).
Supported by Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL).
ArticleID:RSA20203
istex:D1D633A596C3EAEE30806B93DFF2D2D0AC50A68A
ark:/67375/WNG-9DTD8QKD-T
This article is dedicated in memory of Shimon Even (1935–2004).
Supported by Israel Internet Association (ISOC‐IL).
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:1042-9832
1098-2418
DOI:10.1002/rsa.20203